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I Lack Nothing

November 29, 2017

This past week I preached on Psalm 23 from the updated NIV, in which the first verse likely sounds different than the version most of us know. In the updated NIV it says in verse one: “The Lord is my Shepherd. I lack nothing.”

Hear those words: I lack nothing.

As we enter into the holiday season, a time when an estimated 30% of all retail transactions take place, I urge you to remember, if the Lord is your shepherd, you lack nothing.

In order to put this into action, my faith community gathered around the table and celebrated the Eucharist together, this time hearing the words “The Lord is your shepherd, you lack nothing” as the bread was taken, dipped in the cup, and consumed.

Whether it’s finances, relationships, career aspirations, interpersonal conflict, or something else entirely, I pray you can come to realize the depth of truth in one simple verse of scripture.

2 thoughts on “I Lack Nothing”

I remember noticing that verse a while back in my NLT Bible: “The Lord is my shepherd. I have all that I need.” I grew up memorizing the classic “I shall not want” which tends to make people think of the modern connotation of the word want — to desire. When I read the NLT version of it is struck me that all these years I’ve been misreading that verse, and that it was an older definition of the word. Today we would probably rephrase it as “want for” — which fits perfectly in the new NIV translation: “I want for nothing.”

I’m somewhat obsessed with comparing different translations, so this post appealed to me a lot. Funny thing is that I frequently find the KJV to be more understandable than the NIV — that’s probably just me. I don’t think that holds up in this case.

Ooh, I like that NLT “I want for nothing.” That’s great. I’ve also preached on this topic before (using a different passage) and used the Avett Brothers song “Ill With Want” which has a similar understanding of that word “want.” Anyway, comparing translations is always a great idea. The two I compare most often are NIV and NRSV and sometimes the differences can be enlightening.